The Narendra Modi government has moved the Supreme Court seeking review of its April 15 judgment directing translocation of a small population of Asiatic lions from their only habitat in Gir forests to Kuno Palpur sanctuary in Madhya Pradesh and proposed a second home for them within Gujarat.

Reluctant to part with even a small pack from its pride of lions, the Modi government warned against translocation. "Top carnivores have never been successfully trans-located," it said in its petition.

"We propose that we may first have a programme of having a second home in the same climatic region in Gujarat as a pilot project and closely monitor the progress and learn from the exercise as to how the prides behave etc. It will have numerous advantages. In fact, it will be in tune with international guidelines," it added.

The review petition, filed through standing counsel Hemantika Wahi, said a second home within Gujarat for the Asiatic lions would be more practical as it would have similar climatic condition, topography, flora, fauna and prey base.

Dislocating a few lions from the socially well-knit prides would prove disastrous for them, the state said. "The group and pride composition and their inter-relationship in a population are governed by several factors, and any external intervention in a group by removing some of them may result into social disturbance and disintegration of group and pride. Group territoriality, group hunting and communal cub rearing form the basis of the cooperation and a strategy for their survival success," it said.

The Gujarat government said Kuno, where the lions were to be trans-located within six months of the April 15 judgment, suffered heavily at the hands of poachers. It also feared that there could be a tiger-lion conflict in Kuno.

"Recent reported sighting of tiger cubs in the Kuno region is a pointer to the existence of some tigers in the region, which is not conducive to the translocation of lions in that region, since the same would lead to niche-conflict between co-predators," the state said seeking a reconsideration of the apex court's judgment.

On April 15, a bench of Justices K S Radhakrishnan and C K Prasad had ordered moving some lions to Kuno wildlife sanctuary, brushing aside the Modi government's passionate resistance.

The court had asked the ministry of environment and forests to take urgent steps for reintroduction of a small number of lions to Kuno from Gir on the ground that the highly-endangered species needed to be insulated from extinction, which could happen if a disease struck the small area in which they live.

The court had said the relocation exercise should be undertaken under the watch of a multi-member expert body and should be completed in six months.

Responding to Gujarat government's argument that lions should not be moved out of Gujarat, the bench had said, "No state, organization or person can claim ownership or possession over wild animals in the forest. Animals in the wild are properties of the nation for which no state can claim ownership and the state's duty is to protect wildlife and conserve it."

Environmentalists Tuesday slammed an Indian state's attempt to halt the relocation of some of the country's endangered lions, saying it was undermining efforts to boost their dwindling numbers.

The country's top court ruled in April that some of the 411 Asiatic Lions found only in the Gir forests of the western state of Gujarat must be moved to a wildlife sanctuary in a neighbouring state.

The Supreme Court's decision was applauded by wildlife experts, who said restricting the lions to just one area put them at risk of inbreeding, disease and extinction.

But the Gujarat government on Monday petitioned the Supreme Court, seeking a review of its judgement, saying that moving the wild cats would prove "disastrous" for the species.

"Any external intervention in a [lion] group by removing some of them may result in social disturbance," the state said in its petition.

The petition also said that previous experience had showed that "top carnivores had never been successfully relocated".

Environmentalists rejected the arguments. They said the lions were being caught in a political tussle between Gujarat, where the cats are a source of pride, and neighbouring Madhya Pradesh state which says it has the expertise to manage them.

"It is important to have a second or third independent home for the long-time survival of the animals," said Belinda Wright, founder of the Wildlife Protection Society of India.

"It should have nothing to do with politics. No animal belongs to any state," Wright told AFP.

Under threat

The cats are a subspecies of lion which are slightly smaller than their African cousins and have a fold of skin along their bellies. They are a major attraction for tourists to Gujarat.

Their numbers have slowly increased thanks to decades of conservation work in the state.

But the Wildlife Trust of India said their habitat was under threat in Gir from encroaching villages.

"The lions in Gir are in conflict with the local villagers. Lions are audacious creatures, they will hunt if they have to and they do go after livestock. If the cattle is killed, it is a severe loss to the locals," the Trust's Mayukh Chatterjee told AFP.

He rejected suggestions that the lions may not withstand the move to a new habitat.

"Lions are tough and ferocious creatures. They adapt very easily to the surroundings."

Wright said today's scientists were well equipped to successfully move the lions.

"For the sake of the future of the Asiatic lions, they must be relocated," she added.

Relocating India's Asiatic lions could help spread the small population — or it might put the endangered big cats at risk.

The western state of Gujarat has appealed to India's Supreme Court in a bid to hold on to its small pride of endangered Asiatic lions.

The neighboring state of Madyha Pradesh won permission in April to relocate a limited number of the big cats from their habitat in Gujarati forests to a wildlife sanctuary across the state border — but Gujarat's government says the move could put the animals at further risk.

"Top carnivores have never been successfully translocated," the state said in a petition filed Monday, according to the Times of India.

That may be overstating the case, but it's correct in principle, Kartick Satyanarayan, co-founder of the India-based, non-profit conservation group Wildlife SOS, told GlobalPost.

"We looked into case studies from across the world and we concluded that translocation is difficult," Satyanarayan said in a telephone interview.

In fact, the NGO found that only 16 percent of animal relocations proved successful. In other cases, relocated animals were killed by locals or wildlife officials after they preyed on livestock or attacked people, they fought their way back to their original homes, or they were killed in fights for territory in their new locations, Satyanarayan said.

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Already, conservationists have argued that a previous attempt to relocate tigers to Panna National Park, which is also in Madhya Pradesh, put those animals in unnecessary danger.

When the authorities pushed through that relocation, it was unclear that Panna had eliminated the poaching problems that may have killed off the park's original tiger population, critics alleged. As GlobalPost reported at the time, Panna had lost about 40 tigers to poachers over the five years leading up to the relocation.

Moreover, the relocated tigers had various problems adjusting to the new territory — resulting in dangerous clashes between the cats.

The Asiatic lion (Panthera leo persica) is a subspecies which currently lives only in the Gir Forest of Gujarat. INDRANIL MUKHERJEE/AFP/Getty Images.

For the Asiatic lion, the stakes may be even higher. According to the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), the only surviving population of Asiatic lions has grown too large for the Gir Forest National Park, a 540-square mile preserve in southwestern Gujarat. As a result, around 100 lions live outside the preserve's boundaries, where they risk conflict with humans as the state modernizes.

Meanwhile, WWF argues, having all the remaining Asiatic lions in one location is itself dangerous, as it leaves the entire population vulnerable to an epidemic.

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The Supreme Court found those arguments convincing. In an April 15 judgment, the court ruled that some of Gujarat's lions would have to be relocated to Madhya Pradesh within six months' time.

"We are of the view that the various decisions taken by the National Board for Wildlife (NBWL) that the Asiatic Lion should have a second home to save it from extinction due to catastrophes like epidemic, large forest fire etc., which could result in extinction, is justified," the court said, according to India's Hindu newspaper.

But according to the state of Gujarat and to Wildlife SOS, that decision was founded on a faulty premise. Gujarat pointed out in its petition that the presence of tigers in the location selected for the lions in Madhya Pradesh could spell disaster, for instance.

Meanwhile, in its own survey of the Gir population, Wildlife SOS found that the lions were ranging far enough from one another that the threat of an epidemic is unlikely.

"We found that the lions are now spread across 10,000 square kilometers [3,800 square miles], not 1,400 square kilometers [540 square miles]. So the argument that they are all in one forest and could be killed by an epidemic is not relevant," Satyanarayan said.

Summer vacations are probably the happiest time in a child's life. It also gives an opportunity to visit new places. Travelling is a fun, enjoyable and amazing experience.

This summer I, along with my family, went to Gir National Park in Gujarat, the home of Asiatic lions. There we saw spotted deer, langurs, porcupines and other animals. An official at the ticket office told us that there are about 300 lions and leopards in Gir, making it one of the major big cat concentrations in India. He also told me that there are other animals such as Sambar and chital, blue bull or the nilgai, chousingha, world's only four-horned antelope, chinkara or the Indian gazelle and wild boar thrive in Gir. Jackal, striped hyena, jungle cat, rusty-spotted cat are also common.

Gir has a large population of marsh crocodile, which is among the 40 species of reptiles and amphibians recorded in the sanctuary. After having a chat with the official, we moved ahead. Inside the forest, I saw monkeys and leopards. But unfortunately, we were not able to see a single lion! Still I enjoyed the trip. Gir is surely the jewel of Gujarat's ecological resources.

Environmentalists on Tuesday slammed Gujarat's attempt to halt the relocation of some of the country's endangered lions, saying it was undermining efforts to boost their dwindling numbers.The country's top court ruled in April that some of the 411 Asiatic Lions found only in the Gir forests of the western state of Gujarat must be moved to a wildlife sanctuary in a neighbouring state.

The Supreme Court's decision was applauded by wildlife experts, who said restricting the lions to just one area put them at risk of inbreeding, disease and extinction.

But the Gujarat government on Monday petitioned the Supreme Court, seeking a review of its judgement, saying that moving the wild cats would prove "disastrous" for the species.

"Any external intervention in a (lion) group by removing some of them may result in social disturbance," the state said in its petition.

The petition also said that previous experience had showed that "top carnivores had never been successfully relocated".

Environmentalists rejected the arguments. They said the lions were being caught in a political tussle between Gujarat, where the cats are a source of pride, and neighbouring Madhya Pradesh which says it has the expertise to manage them.

"It is important to have a second or third independent home for the long-time survival of the animals," said Belinda Wright, founder of the Wildlife Protection Society of India.

"It should have nothing to do with politics. No animal belongs to any state," Wright told AFP.

The cats are a subspecies of lion which are slightly smaller than their African cousins and have a fold of skin along their bellies. They are a major attraction for tourists to Gujarat.

Their numbers have slowly increased thanks to decades of conservation work in the state.

But the Wildlife Trust of India said their habitat was under threat in Gir from encroaching villages.

"The lions in Gir are in conflict with the local villagers. Lions are audacious creatures, they will hunt if they have to and they do go after livestock. If the cattle is killed, it is a severe loss to the locals," the Trust's Mayukh Chatterjee told AFP.

He rejected suggestions that the lions may not withstand the move to a new habitat.

"Lions are tough and ferocious creatures. They adapt very easily to the surroundings."

Wright said today's scientists were well equipped to successfully move the lions.

"For the sake of the future of the Asiatic lions, they must be relocated," she added.

A report submitted by an NGO, Empower Foundation, to the forest department has stated that lions should not be translocated and the big cats should be allowed to migrate naturally only.

The report has suggested that even if the need arises, the lions should be given a safe passage and should be given a natural corridor to any other place, but they should not be translocated to Kuno Palpur in Madhya Pradesh, which will result into a failed translocation and extinction of the endangered lions from the new proposed habitat, a big loss to the wildlife.

The report has stated that lions are not present only in the Gir National Park, but over a period of time have migrated naturally hundred of kilometres away to places like Amreli, Savarkundla, Liliya Porbandar, Paniya, Mitiyala, Barda, Una, Chhara, Sutrapada, Babariya, Kodinar, Visavadar, Hipavadli, Jamvada, Jasadhar, Girnar, Bhavnagar and Palitana. The 1,412 sq km abode of Asiatic lions has now spread across 10,500 sq km, thus mitigating concentration risk in one area.

Jalpesh Mehta of Empower Foundation said if an epidemic can kill all lions in Gujarat, it can also kill all the tigers in the MP-Rajasthan-Maharashtra belt (Pench-Kanha-Bandhavgarh-Ranthambhor) and south India's Karnataka-Kerala-Tamilnadu belt (Mudumalai-Nagarhole-Bandipur-Waynad) as the distance is almost similar between Gir and other areas as compared to tiger reserves.

The report has further stated that Gujarat should stop using Gir lions, in fact the Gujarat government should communicate that they are found everywhere and should mention lions in Gir, outside Gir or in Greater Gir or Saurashtra region to correct the world's perception on the issue.